Sexual Offenses

Sex crimes carry the most severe penalties in the United States justice system and those of the individual states. Many sex crimes convictions require the defendant to register for life, and said information is widely made available to the public on the Internet and through local police departments. Those convicted of certain sex offenses are required to update some registrations quarterly or yearly.

The Stigma

If being investigated or arrested for ANY alleged sex crime, it is CRITICAL that you immediately consult and retain a defense attorney experienced in that very field. If you go it alone, or retain an attorney who will not do the job for you, you will fail. And failure in these cases means spending many years in a vicious prison; and the destruction of your reputation, your personal relationships, and your job opportunities.

Contact Morgan & Barbary’s experienced criminal defense lawyer, Darrell Sedgwick, for a FREE consultation: 321-951-3400. See our Arrest Tips and answers to other Frequently Asked Questions if you’ve been taken into custody.

With the new laws and registration requirements, sex crime defendants cannot find housing and they’ll never return to a normal life, never. Even more concerning, statistics show that sex cases are the most likely to result in WRONG convictions — you DO NOT WANT to become one of these statistics.

You need Aggressive Knowledgeable Representation

Contact Morgan & Barbary’s experienced criminal defense lawyer, Darrell Sedgwick, for a FREE consultation: 321-951-3400. See our Arrest Tips and answers to other Frequently Asked Questions if you’ve been taken into custody.

With the new laws and registration requirements, sex crime defendants cannot find housing and they’ll never return to a normal life. Even more concerning, statistics show that sex cases are the most likely to result in WRONG convictions — you DO NOT WANT to become one of these statistics.

Do Not Become a Victim of the System

If you are being investigated or falsely accused for a sex crime you did not commit:

Know that every phone call you make or receive will likely be recorded by a third party (generally law enforcement) and that any statement you make will be distorted and used against you. DO NOT TALK TO ANYONE as it may make the case against you.

Contact a criminal defense attorney who is experienced with such cases.

The Big Problem with Sex Cases

The current political environment has created a witch-hunt for those accused of sex crimes, and the prosecutors will usually push these cases to the fullest extent of the law! Since the accusation is often so outrageous, the accused is already in an unfair starting position. Since the jury system does not always return fair verdicts, as we have seen lately, the defendant’s exposure in prison-years if he is found guilty (rightly or not) is extremely high. Hence, because of this enhanced risk, prosecutors are in the driver’s seat.

Here is an example showing some concerning issues with our judicial system:

Denise Harvey was found guilty of having consensual sex with a 16-year-old boy in Indian River County. Such a sexual encounter is legal in the Carolinas, Georgia, and over 50% of the states of the union. Circuit Judge Dan Vaughn sent her to prison for 30 years. While in Tampa:

Debra LaFave, the Tampa teacher accused of having a sexual relationship with a 14-year-old student, agreed to a plea bargain deal that will keep her out of prison. The 25-year-old LaFave will serve three years of house arrest and seven years of probation for her guilty plea to two counts of lewd and lascivious battery.

Anyone can accuse someone of a sexual crime by simply signing an accusatory sworn statement or affidavit, and the accusation — even if later abandoned by the state or the accuser — will destroy someone’s life. Some disenchanted spouses regularly manufacture false allegations to better their position in a nasty divorce. A casual comment made by a child at school or a consensual relationship between two teenagers, or even clicking on certain web sites can all result in sexual criminal charges.

What Will an Experienced Criminal Defense Lawyer Do?

Experience is everything. In these cases, it is imperative to make your own thorough investigation. A big part of our analysis is the probe of the law enforcement investigation. Often, we find that the questioners are manipulating young witnesses. A child is very easy to manipulate. In some cases, it takes the questioner five interviews over the course of several days to obtain the result he or she seeks, and five completely different stories. Every time, the child is sent home with a parent and returns the next day with a better story. We have seen cases with very young children barely able to speak who allegedly mentioned, in these very words, that they had been, “vaginally digitally penetrated by the perpetrator.”

We most definitely do not condone pedophilia. But neither can we tolerate the destruction of people’s lives based upon fabrications.

The DNA Issue

The Prosecutor’s Fallacy:

“Two different questions may be asked regarding evidence of a match between the defendant’s profile and the profile obtained from a crime scene. First, what is the probability that the defendant’s DNA profile matches the crime scene sample profile, given that he or she is innocent? Second, what is the probability that the defendant is innocent given that his or her DNA profile matches the crime scene profile? The first question assumes the innocence of the defendant and asks about the chances of getting a match; the second assumes that the defendant’s profile matches and asks about guilt or innocence. The ‘prosecutor’s fallacy’ consists of mistakenly giving the answer to the first question as the answer to the second.”

Conclusion

Even if overlooking the devastating long-term effects of any right or wrong sex crime conviction after the sentence has been completed, one must keep in mind that sex crimes carry an average sentence of six to seven years in prison, with sexual batteries carrying even more severe penalties. Make sure you are well represented.